Bank of Canada expected to keep benchmark rate at 2.25% amid Iran war oil price spike

OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada is widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.25 per cent when it announces its latest decision later this morning.

The central bank is also set to release its latest economic forecast in its quarterly monetary policy report.

The bank has been grappling with a confluence of factors that have clouded the outlook for inflation and the economy.

Heading into the year, many economists had predicted inflation would ease and a softer economy would keep the Bank of Canada on the sidelines while it waited for clarity on the U.S. trade front.